INTERVIEW: Tony Hale Talks ‘Sketch,’ ‘Toy Story 5,’ And Making Animated Films

Seth Worley’s new film Sketch is a creative and heartfelt exploration of grief. The story follows Taylor (Tony Hale) and his children, Amber (Bianca Belle) and Jack (Kue Lawrence), as each deals with loss in their own way after the death of the family’s mother. Amber channels her pain through anger and by drawing monsters, Jack suppresses his emotions, and Taylor copes by pretending his wife never existed.

When Jack discovers a mysterious lake that seems to “fix” broken things, he attempts to use it to bring his mother back by placing her ashes in the water. But when Amber, secretly following him, accidentally drops her violent sketches into the lake, the creatures she’s drawn come to life, with startling consequences.

Tony Hale, who also serves as an executive producer, describes Sketch as “Inside Out meets Jurassic Park.” I spoke with Hale about the film’s development, working with young actors, processing grief through storytelling, and creating projects that resonate with children.

Demet: You are starring in Sketch, but you're also an executive producer. How did this project come together for you?

Tony Hale: So the director Seth Worley - he wrote it too - had this idea about this family that's dealing with grief. The daughter is the only one who's expressing it through her art, and my character is compartmentalizing the grief and not dealing with it.

I'm a dad, and I relate to not wanting my daughter to have to go through stuff, and I want to move on. I loved the honesty of it. Seth has a history of special effects so I knew what he was going to do with those monsters, you could see the textures in the monsters, you could see that it was made with crayon, or, chalk, or sharpie and glitter. That was just exciting. We describe it as Inside Out meets Jurassic Park. It's been an amazing journey.

Demet: The effects are great. I really like the grief aspect, and how we see it from three different perspectives. Your character, Amber, and Jack, all experience it differently and express it differently. Was that the thing that caught your attention?

Tony Hale: Yeah, as a parent, that definitely caught my attention. Even my son, who kind of felt the need to control what was going on and fix it - I loved that angle of it because my character was trying to move on, he was trying to fix it, and Amber was the only one who was really dealing with it. I said, "Oh man, this is such a great story to tell." Thankfully we got a chance to make it. It took a long time, but we finally got it out there.

Tony Hale as Taylor in Sketch. © Kova & Angel Studios

Demet: What is it about its direction that you believe will be healing or educational for the younger audience?

Tony Hale: That's a great question. My hope is that kids feel seen. When I was a kid, I had pretty big emotions, big feelings, and I felt like I was the only one who was dealing with this. So [it is] for kids to see it and say, "Oh, I got some big feelings too." Amber was expressing it in a really healthy way, and that's the key: kids can see it and say, "Oh, there's healthy ways to express these emotions." That would be amazing if that's the takeaway.

Demet: This was also Bianca Belle's first feature film, and she gave an excellent performance. What was it like working with her, as well as Kue Lawrence?

Tony Hale: Not only were they really talented actors, but they're really good kids, really nice kids. When you're doing an independent film, your budget is small. You don't have much time, and everybody brought their A game. Everybody came with a good attitude, and that was such a gift.

Demet: Was there anything from your personal life regarding grief or creative outputs that drew you to this project?

Tony Hale: I think, mainly, I really related to the dad. I related to the dad that he thought he was making the best choice. When my daughter was young, I really thought, "Oh well, this is the right choice." when in actuality I was trying to control, I was trying to fix. I related to his mistake, and that parents need to give themselves a break. Parenting is hard. He was really honest with his son and he apologized; I just love the honesty with that.

Demet: You're in a lot of animated projects aimed at children. What draws you to all these projects?

Tony Hale: I'm always thankful for a job, but there's something with children's program[s] - it's simple truths. It's not complicated. I think as an adult, simple truths are the most powerful. Sometimes we get too intelligent, we get too heady, and the power tends to be in saying, "Hey, let's love one another, let's listen to one another." That tends to have the most power.

Demet: With Toy Story 5 around the corner exploring the usage of technology, which some would say is taking away from creative minds like Amber, I thought I would ask what we could expect from that film with its themes and perhaps your character.

Tony Hale: Your guess is as good as mine. When I recorded it, they give you pages, so you don't see the whole script. And I'm saying, "What's going on?" The whole concept of toy versus tech is so needed right now, especially with where the world is. Pixar is a master of putting out amazing movies that are very deep, so I'm really interested to see how they deal with that.

When I did the first Toy Story, I didn't really believe I was going to be in it until I heard my voice in the trailer. I thought they were going to replace me. I'm just as excited to see this one as anybody else.

Demet: Is this a challenge for you with animated projects? It takes a lot of time and you record it and then it comes out years later. How does that feel for you?

Tony Hale: It's exciting cause when you're in the voiceover booth, you're recording, having a good time, and the sketches are kind of raw. And then when you see it come to life, it's like, "Whoa, this is nuts." It's the same with Sketch: we're shooting this and the monsters aren't there. You're talking to nothing, and then when you see it all come together. It's so exciting and at the same time feels like magic. You're saying, "How does this even happen?" That's the brilliance of people bringing their gifts to the table.

Sketch will release in theaters October 24.

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This interview has been edited for clarity.